No, seriously. What makes NASL different from AHL, D-League and MiLB? "The teams are independently owned rather than affiliated with top-flight clubs." Then why isn't Atlantic League baseball significantly more popular than minor league teams affiliated to MLB teams? This difference is really only noticed by hardcore supporters of a 2nd division team. Casual fans probably don't notice a difference, or don't care. "Soccer has a history of loyal supporters yadda yadda yadda." That's true, but do you really think that NASL teams can be financially successful focusing only on gaining hardcore supporters? It needs all the fans it can get, and shouldn't turn away the youth soccer clubs and casual fans.
this thread has become pretty stupid in the past couple of pages. The Rowdies drew a bit over 4k for the semifinal home game and from what I can gather the front office is extremely busy selling/distributing tickets to the championship series home game. I'd expect at least what we drew for the semis and hopefully we see something closer to 5k. Anything between 4500 and 5k is pretty good, all things considered. And someone asked where those 8,000 people from the 2010 home opener went? They live in Tampa, they thought the Rowdies were back and they didn't know until that day just how terrible the game day experience was going to be for a new minor league team playing in a stadium like GSF. easy enough
I hope you are right about getting a decent crowd. Guess I just don't know how they do it when I don't see any trace of advertising. Would be scary what kind of numbers they pulled if they did.
Absolutely not, and I pose the question to you as well. What about soccer, makes it special ? You, just like everyone else that has been asked this question ... has failed to provide an answer.
They did place ads on digital billboards around Tampa Bay leading up to the last home game, but yeah an actual marketing campaign would be nice. They have hired a firm that specializes in sports teams and who has the TB Lightning account, so maybe there is hope for next season?
No one has answers because... Soccer is NOT different. Minor league is minor league. They all lack the prestige factor of major league sports... You know, the national tv, "saw them on sportscenter" factor. In addition, they all have abundant ticket availability (no need to pre-purchase), are relatively inexpensive (eliminating the "exclusivity factor"), have high annual roster turnover, and are an afterthought in the local sports media compared to nearest major college or major league team.
Nice crowd. Hopefully the Rowdies can top it. For what its worth, Tampa Bay has been thanking businesses who buy group tickets to Saturday's final on Facebook. Honestly, I don't know why they haven't done that all season. Maybe their recent front office and marketing consultant moves are yielding immediate results.
Where was all that smoke coming from? It looked like the grandstand was on fire for the whole second half. What was that all about?
The Twins and Vikings bought 1,000 tickets and gave them away. So 3,500 paid, give or take a few hundred season ticket holders.
I thought bought and paid meant the samething. The club itself didn't give away 1000 free tickets. (That we know of) Also some/most sports teams don't include playoff games in their STH packages. (Minnesota included) So 4642 tickets were purchased.
Did some one hammer you last week? Yes, I did read the post. The guy was absolutely correct. Next time Ken, when you write on apprenticeships, please consult with somebody.